Marek Malik was near his hometown in the Czech Republic this week when he picked up a phone call from an international number, soon enough realizing what was coming.

“Yes,” the former Rangers defenseman told me, “I know about it.”

He had been asked about the new NHL record for longest shootout, a 20-rounder between the Panthers and Capitals on Tuesday night. Malik retired this summer after playing the past five seasons in Europe, the last of his 691 NHL games coming in 2009 for the Lightning. He played for five different teams, including three seasons from 2005 to 2008 with the Rangers, as well as parts of three seasons with the Hartford Whalers, who made him a third-round pick in 1993.

Yet he will forever be indelibly linked with one date — one moment, really.

On Nov. 26, 2005, the shootout was still in its infancy. Coming out of a canceled season due to the second owners’ lockout, the league had instilled a skills competition to eliminate the anticlimactic tie and replace it with a bit of showmanship (at the expense of competitive fairness, oh well).

By the time then-Rangers coach Tom Renney tapped Malik on the shoulder, the shootout had gone to a record 14 rounds — 11 rounds longer than the minimum of three shooters — and both the Blueshirts and the Capitals were nearing the ends of their benches.

So Malik, all arms and legs off his 6-foot-5 frame, lumbered down the ice. He hadn’t scored that year, as MSG play-by-play man Mike Crispino pointed out. And after the move — The Move — color man John Davidson added that “now I’ve seen it all.”

“When the [shootout] goes on and on, I thought if I had a chance to do it, I do this move, for sure,” Malik said. “Everyone tried all the different things — shots or moves. And I said I think I’m going to surprise him because both goalies were unbelievable that night. [The Rangers were playing some rookie named Henrik Lundqvist.] I thought they were going to be a little tired, maybe shock him a little bit, and it works to my favor.

“Maybe everyone was not going to expect that much from me, and it worked out exactly how I wanted.”

Malik slowed down. He brought the puck to his backhand. He slid it through his legs. He then put the stick through his legs, as well, and lifted the puck over Olaf Kolzig’s right shoulder.

Jaromir Jagr (left) hugs Malik after the game-winning tally.Reuters

He won the game, and the Garden went nuts — though how many people there actually saw what happened, besides the puck going in, is questionable. Malik then turned up the ice with a smile on his face, and raised his left arm in a gesture for the crowd to get up.

“A little bit like the Statue of Liberty,” Malik laughed. “I don’t know if it worked or not, but it was a special night for me.”

It also left Kolzig in a sort of strange Ralph Branca spinoff category — the patsy of a historic moment, this Shot Heard a Little More Locally. By the beginning of the 2008-09 season, Malik and Kolzig were in the same locker room in Tampa Bay, playing for the Lightning in what would be the final season in the NHL for both of them. Kolzig, who had a long, solid career mostly with the teal-clad Capitals, called Malik over for what the defenseman called “a little discussion; a special meeting, you know?

“He was really friendly,” Malik remembers. “He kind of shakes his head and said, ‘Awesome move.’ Obviously he was kind of mad, pissed off, that he lost. But he take it really professionally, he gave me all the respect.”

Now the 39-year-old Malik is back in his native country, working as a defensive assistant coach for three different junior teams. He thinks he wants to coach, but he knows he needs the experience before garnering any sort of offer from North America — if that’s the route he wants to go.

“I’m on the start of a new job and new life,” he said. “Right now, I need to start from the beginning. See how good I’m going to be at it and how I’m going to like it.”

He also understands that he is going to be remembered for this one move more than anything else, and he’s OK with that.

“I was really happy that night, first of all, that we won, second of all, that the thing I did, that tricky move, it worked, so I didn’t embarrass myself,” he said. “So it was kind of really special for me. It still is.”

Giroux off the deep end

The Flyers have seemingly been a team in turmoil for some time now, even though they’ve missed the playoffs just once in the past five years and during that time have won five of nine postseason series, including a run to the Stanley Cup final. But, boy, the pressure seems to be getting to captain Claude Giroux.

Just this week, he first wiped a booger on a linesman and then he gnawed on the jersey of an opposing defenseman. Totally cuckoo behavior — even more so in light of the contagious mumps virus running rampant through the league.

But it seems Giroux already has his toe over the ledge, just this past summer getting all drunk on Canada Day and grabbing at the butt of a male police officer, which he later called “a misguided attempt at humor.” The summer before, he needed hand surgery after a golf club “shattered in his hand.” (I love golf, and that doesn’t happen. Ever. Unless, you know, you’ve had 15 beers and slam the club into the ground — or something like that. Not saying that’s what he did …)

The Flyers need him to first be a better player. Through 31 games, his points per 60 minutes was 1.74, good for 141st in the league — one-hundredth of a point behind the disappointing Chris Kreider (1.75) of the Rangers. That could start with a little more maturity, don’t ya think?

Prospective Vegas owner seems … cool?

So William Foley, who is trying to get an expansion team in Las Vegas, sat down with SportsNet’s Elliot Freidman. Dude pushes a button on a bookshelf and it’s a secret staircase to the wine cellar. Walking down, there is a framed autographed Wayne Gretzky Oilers jersey. It seems like he wants to give Gretzky a job — either president or GM or coach or something. He’s also a West Point graduate and wants to name the team the Black Knights.

Gee, maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all?

Stay tuned … (if you can find the channel)

The NHL is apparently browsing the world of television and looking for the most obscure channel on which to broadcast their premier non-game programming.

The “Road to the Winter Classic” series is normally a really interesting watch, a behind-the-scenes look at the two teams leading up to the New Year’s Day outdoor game. This year, it’s between the Capitals and Blackhawks, two teams that should be pretty compelling.

Patrick Kane of the Chicago BlackhawksGetty Images

But HBO is no longer doing the show, so the first episode aired Tuesday on a channel called EPIX. You know that one, right? If not, you can stream the show from NHL.com. Still, seems sad no more mainstream channel wanted it.

But of course, I’ll still watch — even if it’s on my computer.

Rapid Reaction rankings

1. Blackhawks: It’s going to take a lot to dethrone them anytime soon, after going 9-1-0 in their past 10.

2. Blues: Which doesn’t mean St. Louis isn’t trying to catch the ‘Hawks, just one point behind in the powerhouse race atop the Central division.

3. Ducks: Goalie Frederik Andersen has won eight of his past nine starts, and the Ducks are starting to run away with the Pacific.

In the 5-10 range: Rangers: Knew it. I knew it. They had to start turning it around, and they did with a three-game sweep of Western Canada, which segues nicely into a home-and-home with the lowly Hurricanes, then a Garden match against the Capitals before what should be a rather joyous Christmas break.

In the 7-12 range: Islanders: They’re dealing with injuries rather well, bouncing back from a three-game losing streak with wins over the Blackhawks (impressive) and Devils (not so much, in a shootout).

In the 20-30 range: Devils: With five losses in a row, again comes the chatter about coach Pete DeBoer’s job security. Always the question: Is there someone better waiting?

Parting shot

On the left, Gustav Nyqvist from this past Friday. On the right, Pavel Datsyuk from almost exactly 11 years prior. Same goalie for the opposing Panthers — although Roberto Luongo sure has been through a lot during the intervening time.